People often underestimate the importance of kitchen hygiene in preventing diseases transferred by food, according to a German agency.
Every year more than 100,000 diseases are reported in Germany that may have been caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites in food. In 2023, the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) received 190 reports of food outbreaks transferred that caused 2,248 diseases, 283 hospital admissions and 13 deaths.
In surveys on health risks, relatively few people mention kitchen hygiene and associated diseases as a serious problem. In the last German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BFR) Consumer Monitor, only 17 percent of the respondents said they were concerned about this.
The level of concern about microplastics is 68 percent and residues of plant protection products in food are 52 percent, both considerably higher.
“Most people assume that they do not make mistakes in their own kitchen, but that the mistakes are produced by others,” said hygienic expert Dr. Heidi Wichmann-Schauuer in an episode of “Risko” -the German language scientific podcast of the BFR podcast.
Cross contamination Risk
Special care must be taken on food of animal origin, such as raw meat or fish, as well as raw milk or eggs. Campylobacter is particularly common, just like Salmonella and certain E. coli.
People from vulnerable groups should not eat such food raw, said Wichmann-Schauer.
‘Especially very young children, very old people, people whose defense of the body is weakened by earlier illness or pregnant women. If a product is heated to at least 70 degrees C (158 degrees F) uniform for at least two minutes, then we can assume that most existing pathogens have been killed. “
Pathogens can also be transferred to kitchen utensils, worksheets and hands when preparing food. This means that bacteria can then be transferred from the raw steak in the salad, and eating it can cause disease. To prevent cross -contamination, cleanliness in the kitchen and the correct handling of food is important.
“So always wash your hands in between, use different knives and chopping boards and all the utensils were thoroughly in between,” said Wichmann-Schauer.
Focus on the stock exchanges
Kitchen hygiene was also the focus of the BFR’s stand in Grüne Woche (Green Week), a trade show for the agricultural and food industry from 17 to 26 January in Berlin.
“Many people don’t even know that a lack of kitchen hygiene can be a real health risk, as our surveys show time and again. We want to show our guests how this risk can be considerably minimized by taking simple measures, “said Professor Andreas Hensel, BFR president.
BFR invited children to explore the world of food dugs. The exhibition absenteeism used of the recently published children’s book of BFR in German (Luis’ and Maya’s Adventure in the Shrinking Lab: looking for instructions in the kitchen).
In the “fault fridge”, visitors tried out how to store food in the right way. They could reduce themselves to the size of bacteria. A germ gallery offered information about different foods and visitors tested their knowledge on a QuiSrige.
TV chef Tino Schmidt prepared snacks and presented the right way to treat food in the home kitchen, with BFR scientists.
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